Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
